Understanding Generational Wounding

The truth is, even the experts among us like doctors, theologians, historians, and scientists don't have all the answers when it comes to understanding how trauma is passed down from one generation to another. 

The most important thing to understand is that when you commit to doing your healing work you are helping to bring healing to everyone around you. 

Doing this work allows you to break the cycles with you thus freeing the following generations from experiences the wounding.

Let's explore a few of the ways trauma is passed down through families, clans, and communities.  

Understanding How Generational Wounding is Passed Down 

Through the observation of expressions, mannerisms, body language, and energy shifts 

This happens when a child observes the primary adults in its life behaving in ways that signal danger. Let me give you an example of how this can work. Let's say a young girl is brutally attacked by a dog while sleeping over at a friend's house. As a result of the attack, and the painful recovery period which was also traumatic, the girl grew into a woman who was fearful of all dogs. She goes on to have a daughter of her own. Throughout the course of the child's life she witnesses her mother's shift in behavior anytime they come in contact with a dog. The mother would take a protective stance by picking her child up or creating a physical boundary between the child and the dog when these situations would arise. This signaled to the child that dogs are dangerous and require protection. As a result, this child grew into an adult who has a fear of dogs and the cycle continues being passed down from parent to child. 

Teaching trauma 

Trauma is often taught and passed down through generations through the telling of stories that warn of particular dangers. This is similar to what I discussed above only that when trauma is taught it is done so with intentionality.

The cycle is created when people within communities accept what they are taught by their elders as truth with no exploration or questioning of their own. 

This type of wounding leads to rigidness, feelings of separation from others, resentments, and creates an energetic imbalance causing the Root Chakra to become overactive, depleting the other energy centers in the body. 

I will use the same example from above of the young girl who was attacked by a dog. Let's say this young girl grows into an adult woman who is deathly afraid of all dogs. When she has her own child she continually warns of the danger of dogs. She tells her story in graphic detail to instill fear in her child. The mother truly believes that dogs are dangerous from the limiting belief that was birthed from her traumatic experience. When she passes this story on with the intention of creating fear in the child she believes that she is protecting her. 

This cycle is especially hard to break because it is often done within large communities of people who have engraved these fear-based beliefs into their communal culture. The perception of danger and fear is affirmed and reaffirmed by the repetition of the telling of the story.

Normalizing toxic behaviors

This can be seen in families or groups of people who have been taught that abusive or toxic behavior is normal and to be accepted. 

An extreme example of this would be a son who witnesses his father be physically and emotionally abusive to his mother his entire life and therefore accepts this as being the norm. The boy will be more prone to continue the cycle of abuse in his own home as an adult man for his children to witness.

The belief of this behavior as normal becomes more deeply rooted in acceptance with each passing generation. 

The Epigenetics Explanation 

This is where things get really scientific, but there have been some recent studies done in the last ten years that have strong evidence pointing towards a connection in trauma and marks or chemical imprints being left on the cellular genetic material which can be passed down to future generations. 

For example, a mother who had a particularly anxious pregnancy due to complications may have a child who is predisposed towards anxious tendencies because of the exposure to certain chemicals in the mother's body while still in the womb. 

The good news is that it only takes one generation's awareness to begin the healing process for all future generations. 

We are all affected by this in some way. If you are interested in healing your own ancestral wounding I encourage you to explore your experiences to identify where to begin the healing. Keeping a journal or notebook handy to write down what shows up is recommended. 

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